Hurd has outlined growth acceleration, suite broadening, and technology investment as Oracle’s primary goals with NetSuite. “We want to globalize and move NetSuite around the planet,” he said at SuiteWorld 2017, adding, “We need to accelerate NetSuite’s expansion across the globe. We are going to invest in international expansion. That means leveraging our data centers, leveraging our distribution, leveraging everything we have got to accelerate our strategy.”

“We didn’t spend $9.3 billion to disinvest in the business. Quite the opposite,” Hurd told SuiteWorld attendees. “We spent that money to invest in it to drive it harder, to drive it faster, as part of a grander strategy for Oracle to lead this transformation in the cloud.”

In 2007, Hurd was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of their 25 Most Powerful People in Business. He has been named multiple times by Business 2.0 magazine as one of the 50 Who Matter. Hurd was featured several times in Barron’s in the publication’s Best CEOs lists. In 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle named him CEO of the Year.

Mark Hurd is a proud 1979 Baylor University alumnus, earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the university, which he attended on a tennis scholarship. He continues to support the tennis program at Baylor, assisting Baylor’s national championship tennis program through philanthropic donations to upgrade the facilities in the Hurd Tennis Building, a part of the Hurd Tennis Center. Mark Hurd currently serves on the Baylor Board of Regents, where he is vice chair of the Finance and Facilities Committee. In 2012, Hurd was honored with the 2012–2013 Baylor Legacy Award in recognition of his outstanding service and philanthropy to the university.